Rothstein Adds Schmetterling to Full-time Rowing Staff
8/19/2022 9:00:00 AM | Rowing
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- University of Michigan rowing head coach Mark Rothstein announced on Friday (Aug. 19) that 2021-22 graduate assistant Lauren Schmetterling will be joining the full-time staff as an assistant coach.
"Last year, we felt adding Lauren to our staff would be a great addition as she is someone who loves rowing and has achieved at the highest level in the sport," said Rothstein. "After just one season, I can see that she was the right hire for us. I have been so impressed with Lauren over the past year, and I am very excited to see her continue to grow as a coach while helping our novice program continue to flourish."
"The past season was a great learning experience for me," said Schmetterling. "I am grateful for the chance to continue contributing to the excellence of Michigan Rowing and eager to continue growing and learning with the team and staff as we pursue Big Ten and national championships.
Schmetterling, like all coaches on staff, will assist with coaching all athletes, but in the spring especially she will focus on directing the Wolverine novice program. As a graduate assistant for the 2021-22 season, she helped the Wolverines achieve second place in the Big Ten and a top-10 finish nationally.
While coaching at U-M, Schmetterling is pursuing a master's degree in higher education.
A native of Voorhees, N.J., Schmetterling spent seven years on the USRowing roster (2013-19), winning gold medals at the World Championship, World Rowing Cup, and Olympic stages.
Schmetterling graduated from Moorestown high school in 2006 and went on to Colgate University, where she earned CRCA All-America second-team honors, becoming the program's second-ever All-American on the heels of winning the collegiate double sculls (2x) title at the USRowing Collegiate Championships in 2010. She earned a degree in economics from Colgate while lettering from 2007-10.
After graduating, Schmetterling trained in Boston at the Riverside Boat Club under Tom Keister. In 2012, she was invited to the national training center for USRowing in Princeton, N.J. In 2012, Schmetterling won the open single sculls and double sculls events at the Royal Canadian Henley Regatta.
She has been part of 2013, 2014, and 2015 World Championship teams, winning gold medals with the 8+. She returned to the World Championships stage as part of the 2017 and 2019 teams as well, finishing fourth in the former year. She also was an alternate on the 2018 roster. Schmetterling was named U.S. Rowing Fan's Choice National Team Athlete of the Year in 2015. She also has competed in many World Rowing Cup events and was part of a world record-breaking performance in the 8+ at the 2013 World Rowing Cup III.
Schmetterling made her Olympic debut in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, winning a gold medal with the 8+. In doing so, she became Colgate's third-ever Olympic medalist, the first female Olympian from the school, the first gold medalist ever to attend Colgate and the first medalist of any kind since 1972.
Schmetterling was inducted into Colgate's Hall of Honor in 2017.
